Macron's plan on migrants: deport more, give others legal status
Under pressure from the right, President Emmanuel Macron's government is trying to balance a perceived immigration problem with a need for migrant workers.
PARIS — The issue of immigration once again took center stage in French politics on Tuesday, as President Emmanuel Macron offered a tougher stance on deportations, while expanding work opportunities for migrants with the necessary skills.
Mr. The Macron government is trying to balance pressure from a rising far-right to rein in immigration against France's need for immigrant labor. His bill reflects his longstanding drive to streamline both admissions and deportations, fulfilling a promise he made during his re-election campaign earlier this year.
Recent incidents — including the murder of a schoolgirl by an illegal migrant and the disputed docking of a migrant rescue ship — have also prompted the government to attempt to quell a combustible problem.
Immigration has long been a fixation of politics in France — the president's proposal would be the country's 29th immigration and asylum law in four decades — where politicians and commentators, especially on the right, often describe a country pushing back an uncontrollable influx of migrants. In fact, France has a lower proportion of immigrants in its population than most of its neighbors, and over the past decade immigration has increased less there than in the rest of Europe.
For four hours on Tuesday, lawmakers debated Mr Macron's tightrope walker plan, which is expected to be voted on next spring. The government is hoping to win the votes of left and right opposition lawmakers it needs to pass the bill, after the president's party lost its absolute majority in the National Assembly.
>"It is legitimate to ask the question of our migration policy: to say who we want, who we can welcome, and who we do not want, who we cannot welcome" , Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne told the National Assembly, the lower and most powerful house of Parliament.
The main purpose of the bill is to streamline the country's slow deportation process. Over the past decade, only about 15% of migrants ordered to leave the country have actually left the country, according to a Senate report released in May.
Under of the proposal, the number of possible appeals for rejected asylum seekers would be reduced from 12 to four; deportation procedures would be accelerated; and some safeguards for foreigners would be removed to make it easier for them to be deported if convicted of crimes.
"We need to be able to get those who deserve asylum faster , and refuse faster those who cannot get it on our soil,” said Gérald Darmanin, Mr Macron’s ultra-conservative interior minister.
Under pressure from the right, President Emmanuel Macron's government is trying to balance a perceived immigration problem with a need for migrant workers.
PARIS — The issue of immigration once again took center stage in French politics on Tuesday, as President Emmanuel Macron offered a tougher stance on deportations, while expanding work opportunities for migrants with the necessary skills.
Mr. The Macron government is trying to balance pressure from a rising far-right to rein in immigration against France's need for immigrant labor. His bill reflects his longstanding drive to streamline both admissions and deportations, fulfilling a promise he made during his re-election campaign earlier this year.
Recent incidents — including the murder of a schoolgirl by an illegal migrant and the disputed docking of a migrant rescue ship — have also prompted the government to attempt to quell a combustible problem.
Immigration has long been a fixation of politics in France — the president's proposal would be the country's 29th immigration and asylum law in four decades — where politicians and commentators, especially on the right, often describe a country pushing back an uncontrollable influx of migrants. In fact, France has a lower proportion of immigrants in its population than most of its neighbors, and over the past decade immigration has increased less there than in the rest of Europe.
For four hours on Tuesday, lawmakers debated Mr Macron's tightrope walker plan, which is expected to be voted on next spring. The government is hoping to win the votes of left and right opposition lawmakers it needs to pass the bill, after the president's party lost its absolute majority in the National Assembly.
>"It is legitimate to ask the question of our migration policy: to say who we want, who we can welcome, and who we do not want, who we cannot welcome" , Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne told the National Assembly, the lower and most powerful house of Parliament.
The main purpose of the bill is to streamline the country's slow deportation process. Over the past decade, only about 15% of migrants ordered to leave the country have actually left the country, according to a Senate report released in May.
Under of the proposal, the number of possible appeals for rejected asylum seekers would be reduced from 12 to four; deportation procedures would be accelerated; and some safeguards for foreigners would be removed to make it easier for them to be deported if convicted of crimes.
"We need to be able to get those who deserve asylum faster , and refuse faster those who cannot get it on our soil,” said Gérald Darmanin, Mr Macron’s ultra-conservative interior minister.
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